Russ Pond

2009 Hotter ‘N Hell Bide Ride

Some friends and I rode in the 2009 Hotter ‘N Hell bike ride yesterday. Allan and I did the 50-mile ride (the “gentleman’s distance”), and Kevin did the 100 mile ride. It was quite fun. More than 12,000 bikers participated. Here are some pictures from the ride.


Hotels were sold out, so we camped down by a river.

Hotels were sold out, so we camped down by a river.

The night before the race, we had a big spaghetti dinner. Carbing up!

The night before the race, we had a big spaghetti dinner. Carbing up!

This Allan and myself just before the start of the race at sunrise

This Allan and myself just before the start of the race at sunrise

These are the riders behind us at the start.

These are the riders behind us at the start.

These are the riders in front

These are the riders in front

Our 50-mile bike route

Our 50-mile bike route


Ultra Marathon

As you may know from my posts, I’ve been training for a half-marathon, while my wife is training for a full marathon.  We even have pictures of our experience.

I came across this video yesterday about a guy who runs Ultra Marathons.  What is an ultra marathon?  Pain!  It’s like a million miles, or something.  Okay, not really, but it’s still way beyond human ability.  There are 40-mile ultras and 100-mile ultras.  This video is about a guy who does 150-mile ultra marathons.  Very inspiring story!

In the video, he says one thing that really stands, one thing that all of us can take to heart, “You have to see yourself doing it. Unless you can see yourself doing it, you’ll never achieve it.”